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Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Mindy's Law Helps Women Find Love After Sexual Assault

"One of the things that’s troubling is that people see a Natalie Portman or some other Hollywood starlet who boasts of, ‘Hey look, you know, we’re having children, we’re not married, but we’re having these children, and they’re doing just fine. But there aren’t really a lot of single moms out there who are making millions of dollars every year for being in a movie. And I think it gives a distorted image that yes, not everybody hires nannies, and caretakers and nurses. Most single moms are very poor, uneducated, can’t get a job and if it weren’t for government assistance, their kids would be starving to death and never have health care. And that’s the story that we’re not seeing, and it’s unfortunate that we glorify and glamorize the idea of out of children wedlock.”--Mike Huckabee

"And so I know it happens, and yet even from those horrible, horrible tragedies of rape, which are inexcusable and indefensible, life has come and sometimes, you know, those people are able to do extraordinary things...you don't punish the child for the crimes of the parent."---Mike Huckabee

I am pleased to announce that I will be sponsoring Mindy's Law (HB1149) in the House of Representatives in an effort to address two terrible situations we currently face in this country. Every 2 minutes, someone in the United States is sexually assaulted and those victims are overwhelmingly women. Unfortunately, some of those women will get pregnant. It is imperative that we protect these children and encourage women to keep those children.

Unfortunately, as things stand now, most women who keep their babies will have the stigma of being a single mother. We know this is not the best environment for a child and many women are so scarred by the sexual assault that they won't even consider the rapist as a potential spouse and father for the child.

Mindy's Law will create a video service that will enable the victims of sexual assault to reconnect with the perpetrators who victimized them. In a stress free environment, perhaps a love connection can be sparked or at least couples may decide to stay together for the sake of the child. Successful video visitations could lead to eventual face to face conversation and even conjugal visits.

Women who have been through the trauma of rape and then of bringing a child of that rape to term have been traumatized. There is no reason to punish them further by denying them contact with the father of their child. I join with Mike Huckabee in standing up for these women and I am prepared to fight for them with Mindy's Law.